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ACCELERANDO
An acceleration or speeding up of the tempo of a particular aria, chorus or ensemble.
ACT
A portion of an opera designated by the composer, which has a dramatic structure of its own.
ARIA
A solo piece written for a main character which focuses on the character's emotion.
ASCENDING
A series of notes going from a low to a high pitch.
ASIDE
A secret comment from an actor or singer directly to the audience that the other characters cannot hear.
BARITONE
The male singing voice that is higher than bass but lower than tenor.
BASS
The lowest male singing voice.
BEL CANTO
Italian phrase literally meaning "beautiful singing". A traditional Italian style of singing emphasizing tone, phrasing, coloratura passages, and technique; also the operas written in this style.
BUFFO
From the Italian for "buffoon". A singer of comic roles (basso-buffo) or a comic opera (opera-buffa).
CABALETTA
The final part of a Bel Canto aria. It is usually rather fast.
CADENZA
A passage of singing, often at the end of an aria, which shows off the singer's vocal ability.
CAVATINA
The first part of a Bel Canto aria. It usual is slow and very melodic.
CHORD
A simultaneous combination of three or more tones that constitute a single block of harmony.
CHOREOGRAPHY
The act of setting movement to music to create a dance.
CHORUS
A group of singers who portray servants, party guests, or other unnamed characters; also the music written for them.
COLORATURA
Elaborate ornamentation of music written for a singer using many fast notes and trills.
COMMEDIA DELL' ARTE
A kind of opera that flourished in Italy from the 16th Century that uses an open-ended scenario instead of a script.
COMPOSER
The person who writes the music.
COMPOSITION
A work of music, literature, or art.
COMPROMARIO ROLE
A role in an opera that is sung by a character who is not one of the main characters.
CONDUCTOR
The leader of the orchestra sometimes called maestro.
CONTRALTO
The lowest female singing voice.
COUNTERTENOR
A countertenor voice is that of a male contralto. The role of the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel is usually sung by a female contralto, but can be sung by a male countertenor.
CRESCENDO
A build in the volume or dynamic of the music.
DECRESCENDO
Gradually playing music softer.
DESIGNER
The person who creates the lighting, costumes or sets.
DESCENDING
A series of notes going from a high to a low pitch.
DIRECTOR
The person who instructs the singer-actors in their movements on-stage and in the interpretation of their roles.
DUET
Two people singing or playing together, or the music written for two performers.
ENSEMBLE
Two or more people singing at the same time, or the music written for such a group.
FINALE
The last musical number of an opera or the last number of an act.
FORTE
The Italian term for "loud", indicated in the musical score by the marking "f".
GLISSANDO
An Italian word for "slide", meaning sliding up and down a series of notes very quickly.
HARMONY
Two or more notes played at the same time; in other words harmony deals with chords, simultaneous sounds, and counterpoint with melody set against melody.
INTERLUDE
A short piece of instrumental music played between scenes or acts.
KEY
The specific tonality of a piece of music, indicating the precise pitch which is to serve as the tonal center.
LIBRETTO
The text or words of an opera.
LYRICS
The sung words or text of a musical comedy or operetta song.
MELODY
The tune of the music.
MEZZO-SOPRANO
The middle female singing voice, lower than soprano, but higher than contralto.
MAESTRO
Another word for conductor; Italian for "master".
OCTAVE
Eight notes, beginning and ending on the same letter name; double the frequency of vibration.
OPERA
Italian for "the work". A libretto acted and sung by one or more singers to an instrumental accompaniment. In short: words plus music plus staging.
OPERA BUFFA
Light, humorous opera that developed from the comic scenes at the end of serious operas.
OPERA SERIA
Romantic, flowery, serious opera.
ORCHESTRA
The group of instrumentalists or musicians who, led by the conductor, accompany the singers.
ORCHESTRATION
The art of writing for the orchestra. Decisions about what instruments should play which parts of the music can affect the sound of a composition a great deal.
OVERTURE
The orchestra's introduction to an opera that shows the mood or tone of the opera. It may contain melodies used in the opera itself.
PIANO
The Italian term for "soft", indicated in the musical score by the marking "p".
PITCH
The highness/lowness of a sound or tone.
PRINCIPAL
A major singing role, or the singer who performs such a role.
QUARTET
Four singers or the music that is written for four singers. Also quintet, sextet, etc.
RANGE
How high and low an instrument can play.
RECITATIVE
The sung words which often come before an aria or ensemble. The purpose of recitative is to advance the plot.
RITARD
A slowing in the tempo of a piece of music.
RHYTHM
The arrangement of notes according to their relative length and relative emphasis (beat).
SCALE
A scale is a sequence of notes arranged in order from lowest to highest or from highest to lowest.
SCORE
The written music of an opera or other musical work.
SOLO
Playing or singing alone, as a featured performer.
SOPRANO
The highest female singing voice.
TEMPO
The speed of the music.
TENOR
The highest adult male singing voice.
TRILL
Very quick alternation of pitch between two adjacent notes. See coloratura.
TRIO
An ensemble of three singers or the music that is written for three singers.
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